


We Are Blooming

by ineffablystyles



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, Zayn is a good bro, dad!harry, dog parks, harry is a dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 09:25:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11597748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ineffablystyles/pseuds/ineffablystyles
Summary: a story of dog parks and broken hearts and a boy, his son and a girl who's never really had a family





	We Are Blooming

**Author's Note:**

> come find me on tumblr! 
> 
> ineffably-styles.tumblr.com

 

“You’re sure she won’t mind taking care of him for the night?” Harry asked Zayn for what seemed like the fifth time already. Zayn shook his head exasperatedly holding the phone to his ear as he helped Marigold carry a couple of books back up to her flat.

“Yes, I’m sure. Do you want to speak to her? She’s right beside me,” he offered, rolling his eyes as they walked through the door. He ditched his shoes as soon as he was through the doorway, handing the books to her before following into the lounge room. Harry was still chattering doubts in his ear, though Zayn couldn’t promise he was listening to a single thing he was saying as he switched the telly on.

“Dunno, mate. Maybe it’s best if I just stay at home,” Harry was saying, the doubt was clear as day in his voice.

“No way,” Zayn scoffed. “We’ve been planning this for  _ months.  _ You can’t just cancel a few days before. I promise Isaac will be fine with Marigold. She’s like the kid whisperer. You should see her with Mrs Fletcher’s kids; they’re almost human when she’s around and you  _ know  _ how evil they are.”

“Oi,” Marigold whipped him around the back of the head, catching the end of his sentence. “Tom and Cindy are darling’s, you’re just shite with kids,” she quipped, settling onto the couch beside Zayn and grabbing the remote from beside him while he was distracted with rubbing the back of his head. She switched the channel to what looked to be re-runs of Big Brother before side-eyeing him in deliberation.

“I’m great with kids,” Zayn grumbled, glaring at her and momentarily ignoring Harry. “Louis always has me round when his family comes for a visit.”

Marigold scoffed. “He called you once and that doesn’t count since he’s one of your mates. Would you like me to speak to him?” she asked, turning to fully face him now.

“Who, Louis?” Zayn asked, face full of confusion.

“No, you knob. Harry,” she gestured to the phone. “Want me to have a go at speaking to him?”

“Have at it,” he handed her the phone. “I’m gonna order some pizza. Vegetarian and BBQ chicken good with you?” he questioned, standing up and grabbing her phone off the coffee table where she’d dumped it when she sat down.

“It always is,” she grinned before focusing all her attention on the person she could hear patiently breathing down the other end of the phone. “Hi,” she chirped down the line.

“Uh, hullo,” a deep, slow drawl answered. Marigold didn’t know what she had been expecting, but it certainly hadn’t been that. “You’re Marigold?” he continued, unsurely.

“The one and only,” she grinned though he couldn’t see her. “Zayn says you need me to babysit this weekend. Did you want me to come round to yours or did you want to drop him off at mine?” she said, getting straight to the point.

“Look, I really appreciate the offer to help, but I think it’s best if I just stay at home. Isaac’s never really spent any time away from me and I don’t think he’s going to cope too well with it. I’ve never even left him with my parents and-”

“Are you sure Isaac’s the one that’s going to have trouble being away from you?” Marigold teased. Harry didn’t reply and she took that as confirmation. “How about we get together beforehand,” she offered, feeling a little sorry for him - it couldn’t have been easy raising a kid on his own. “You know, so you can see that I’m perfectly capable of taking care of a what, seven, year old kid?”

“Six,” he said easily. “And I’m sure you’re more than capable. I’m just… worried, I guess,” he confessed a little sheepishly. Marigold thought it was rather endearing.

“Which is why I’m suggesting we meet and spend a day together, you know, so you’re not leaving him with a complete stranger.”

“Only a partial one,” Harry joked, and Marigold let out a light laugh to which Zayn shot her a strange look as he made his way back into the room. “I don’t want to trouble you,” Harry continued hesitantly, seeming to open up a little to the idea.

“It’s no trouble. I don’t go out much,” she shrugged and Zayn snorted from beside her as he muttered his agreeance under his breath. Marigold threw a cushion at him along with her signature glare. “Are you busy tomorrow?” she continued, pretending Zayn wasn’t even there.

“I’m free after half three,” he said. “That’s when Isaac finishes school.”

“Perfect. I have class until noon, then I've got the rest of the day off. Where did you want me to meet you?”

“I’ll text you my address,” he said sounding a lot more relaxed now.

“Great. I’ll text through my number now,” she agreed. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Harry.”

“See you then. Oh, and thank you, again,” he said, a lot more relaxed now that there was a solid plan he could follow.

“Like I said, not a problem,” Marigold nodded before hanging up the phone.

“So he's come around then?” Zayn asked, sounding like he was only half interested.

“Sort of,” she shrugged. “We're gonna meet up tomorrow afternoon so he won't totally flip out about leaving his kid with a stranger.”

He snorted. “Like that'll ever happen. I'll wager he's gonna ring you at least ten times throughout the night - then bail out early.”

“That doesn't sound too bad to me,” Marigold shrugged.

Zayn frowned, as though he hadn't even realised what he'd been saying. “No, I suppose not,” he muttered apologetically.

Marigold rolled her eyes again. “Don't give me that look.”

-

As it turned out, Harry only lived a couple of streets away from her, giving her the chance to get home and squeeze in some coursework before she had to go over to his place. It also saved her from getting lost and before she knew it, she was standing in front of his flat.

She didn’t know exactly what to expect as she knocked, and she found herself filled with nervous energy - she wanted to make a good impression, for whatever reason. Zayn hadn’t told her much about Harry other than how he’d grown up in Cheshire, worried a lot, occasionally came off as a knob and that Isaac’s mum was completely off topics around him. If she’d been honest though, it hadn’t even crossed her mind to ask about his mother. In any case, she supposed Zayn warning her before she opened her fat mouth was a good thing.

She’d asked him to tag along with her today to make things a little less awkward, but he’d flat out declined and when Marigold had pushed for an explanation she found out he had a lunch date. She’d teased him relentlessly after that but Zayn had taken it in his stride, before dishing it right back. It was why they were best friends she supposed.

“Uh, hey,” a voice with emerald green eyes disrupted her thoughts opening the door of the flat she’d just been knocking on. “You must be Marigold,” he continued, pink lips tilting up just a smidge at the corners while his eyes remained guarded - just as Marigold was sure hers were the same.

“Yeah,” she offered her hand and Harry shook it. “But only Zayn tends to call me that,” she made a face. “Marigold is a bit of a mouthful so I usually go by Goldie. You must be Harry.”

“Mhm,” he hummed, eyes twinkling a little. “‘Fraid my name’s not that much of a mouthful, so I’m stuck with just Harry. I do get called dad on the odd occasion though,” he joked letting her in. “Isaac’s dying to meet you,” he ushered her inside.

“No, ‘m not,” a grumbling six year old stood in the middle of the small lounge room with his arms crossed across his chest and his nose in the air. Goldie couldn’t help but grin at him.

“Isaac,” Harry hissed. “Don’t be rude. This is Marigold, Zayn’s friend.”

“Her name’s too long,” Isaac whined, eyeing her from where he was yet to move. Goldie’s grin only seemed to grow while Harry glared at his son.  

“That’s why I go by Goldie,” she quickly corrected Harry. “Only Zayn calls me Marigold,” she rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Even though I’ve told him to quit it.”

Isaac uncrossed his arms, tilting his head at her in thought. “I like the name Goldie,” he said after a moment.

“Well I like the name Isaac,” she told him, kneeling down and offering him her hand same as she’d done to Harry.

“I don’t,” he proclaimed, reaching over and shaking it rapidly, the way you'd expect a six year old to do.

“Oh? Then what would you like me to call you?” she asked him and Harry groaned from beside her. She shot him a confused look but he only shook his head and turned to his son.

“Isaac, don’t start this again,” he warned, subconsciously reaching a hand up and to run through his hair. Goldie watched on amused.  

“I was only going to ask her to call me ‘Zac’, dad,” he said innocently batting his green eyes, identical to those of his father.

“Of course you were,” he said exasperatedly, though his words were laced with nothing but affection. “Have you ever been to the park just down the road?” Harry directed his words to Goldie.

“The dog park?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “That’s the one. Have you ever been there?”

“No,” she admitted. “I didn’t really think there was anything there for me,” she shrugged.

“But the puppies!” Harry exclaimed, Isaac nodded along eagerly although Goldie wondered how much of the conversation he was actually following.

“They’re kind of why I’ve never gone there,” she confessed.

“You don’t like  _ puppies?” _ Harry asked, sounding horrified and Goldie couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her.

“Sorry, sorry,” she quickly apologised when she noticed his affronted look. “I’ve just never seen someone who loves puppies so much.”

“Dad loves  _ all  _ animals,” Isaac cut in. “He’s an animal doctor,” he said proudly.

Goldie glanced over at Harry in surprise, taking note of the slight pinkness to his cheeks. She’d never actually thought to ask Zayn what Harry did for a living, but suddenly the connections were starting to form in her mind.

“So that’s how you and Z met,” she blurted out. “You’re Buster’s doctor,” she explained, thinking about the far too energetic kitten Zayn had brought home one day completely smitten.

“Oh,” Harry’s eye’s lit up with recognition. “Buster was quite the handful,” he mused, remembering the day Goldie was speaking about.

“Tell me about it. She ruined a perfectly lovely couch I had,” she frowned, rolling her eyes as she uttered the next few words. “But if you ask Zayn it was far past time I redecorated my lounge room. Like he knows anything about decorative cushions.”

“And how much do  _ you  _ know about decorative cushions?” Harry teased.

“Sod all,” Goldie admitted. “But that’s not the point.”

“No,” he agreed. “I suppose it’s not.”

“Now you’re just mocking me,” Goldie pouted.

 

“Only a little bit, Doll,” he conceded, glancing over at where Isaac was tugging on the sleeve of his shirt and missing the blush that had settled on Goldie’s cheeks.

“When are we going to see the puppies, daddy?” Isaac asked sweetly, batting his lashes up at his father. Goldie thought for a six year old, the kid was pretty smart if the knowing twinkle behind his eyes was anything to go by.

Harry glanced up at Goldie, raising his eyebrows in a silent question. She grinned at him in response. “I guess we can go right now,” he shrugged. “Why don’t you go and put your shoes on,” he suggested gently. Isaac was off before Harry had even finished his sentence. “He really likes puppies,” he explained sheepishly.

“I can tell,” Goldie agreed. “You’re not allowed to have any pets in your building?” she asked.

“Unfortunately, no. Apparently, past experiences haven’t been very good for the other tenants.”

“That’s a shame,” she sympathised.

“Yeah, though I doubt we would have gotten one anyway,” he admitted. “I can barely take care of Zac, let alone Zac  _ and  _ a puppy.”

“I’m sure you would have done a great job,” she tried to comfort him, making small talk while they waited for Isaac to come back.  

Harry wasn’t really sure how to reply to that and they fell into a slightly awkward silence, the both of them mentally wishing Zayn was there with them. Thankfully, however, while Goldie glanced around looking for something interesting to comment on, and Harry debated the merits of bringing up the weather, Isaac came rushing back into the room.

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go,” he cheered, grabbing hold of his dad’s hand and pulling him towards the door. Harry let out a slight chuckle allowing Isaac to lead him while Goldie followed slowly along behind them.

“Do you guys do this all the time?” she asked Harry as they made their way down the street with Isaac running along in front of them, while they kept a sharp eye on him.

“A couple of times a week, yeah,” he told her, flicking his eyes momentarily towards her before focusing on Isaac again. “It’s the least I can do for him.” Goldie didn’t really know what to say to that, opting to fall silent instead and let Harry carry the conversation. “So,” he perked up a little. “Do you really not like puppies?”

Goldie let out a surprised laugh. “I love puppies,” she admitted. “When I was growing up, there used to be this one stray dog that roamed the neighbourhood,” she told him. “According to the neighbours she had been there since she was a puppy but she never really had a home, so she was sort of just accepted as the neighbourhood dog. We used to feed her and bathe her and play with her all the time after school. And she was just always around, especially when you were having a bad day or something.”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed softly, Goldie’s words making him think back to his own childhood. “Isaac’s mum used to have a puppy when we were growing up.”

“Oh,” she glanced at him in surprise unsure what to say. Zayn hadn’t prepared her for Harry bringing up Isaac’s mum himself. He’d been completely adamant that he’d never bring it up and Goldie had assumed that since he knew Harry better than she did, that he’d be right. “Boy or girl?” she asked, deciding to play it safe.

It was almost as if Harry hadn’t been expecting that because it took him a couple of seconds to respond. “Boy. His name was Spot,” he smiled a little sheepishly, grateful for the lighter topic.

“That’s a bit cliche, innit?”

“I guess,” he shrugged. “We were only kids when she got him, though. I tried to convince my parents to get me a puppy as well afterwards,” he laughed a little, grabbing hold of Isaac’s hand as they crossed the road.

“And how’d that work for you?”

“I got a cat instead.”

Goldie couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped her, not expecting that answer. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not. I loved that cat, too.”

“Not as much as you love puppies, though,” Goldie teased him.

“I’d say equally as much,” he argued as they made their way through the gates and into the dog park. Isaac instantly split off from them and Goldie got ready to chase after him only to be held back by Harry.

“It’s fine,” he told her. “He knows not to go far and to always stay in my sight. He just likes to chase the puppies around.”

“And you guys do this every day?” she asked, trying to get a better idea of their routine.

“Most days,” Harry shrugged. “It tires him out,” he confessed a little sheepishly. “Makes it easier to get him to go to bed a little earlier than usual.”

“I should keep that in mind next time I have to babysit Zayn’s neighbours,” she mused. “They’re a handful.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Harry snorted, leading her to an empty park bench and sitting down. “I’ve seen Tom and Cindy in action more than once. Even set Isaac up on a play-date with them once – that never happened again. I’ve never seen kids so energetic in my life.”

It was Goldie’s turn to snort. “I bet you saw them whenever Zayn was babysitting,” she told him.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “But I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“’Course you don’t,” she shook her head amusedly. “Zayn would never admit it to you, but it was all his fault. He gave them sweets when he was meant to try and get them to take a nap.”

“Ha! Somehow I’m not all that surprised,” he mused. “I knew there was a reason Isaac always came home with more energy than he left with whenever Zayn watched him.”

“He’s great with kids - but only when there’s someone else around to watch him while he watches the children.”

 

Harry quirked a brow and grinned before responding, “So what you’re telling me is that if I want Zayn to babysit I need to find someone to babysit him first.”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Goldie laughed. “Being a parent’s hard.”

“Six years of experience encourages me to agree with you there,” he nodded.

 

“Daddy, daddy!” Isaac interrupted their conversation. “Look!” he pointed at a dog that was practically the same size as him. “Dingo’s back,” he cheered. 

“That’s great, bud,” Harry encouraged him with a giant grin. “Why don’t you ask Liam if you can play fetch with him again?” he nodded at the couple that was standing just beside the dog, smiling fondly down at Isaac.

“Dingo’s the first dog Isaac met here,” Harry explained to her. “He was a little ill for the past couple of weeks so his owners kept him home and Isaac missed him.”

“Do you know the people who own him?”

“We’ve met a couple of times. The bloke’s name is Liam and that’s his girlfriend, Leah, I think. Want to take a guess at how we met?” he asked playfully.

“You’re Dingo’s doctor?” she raised her brows.

“That obvious?” he scratched at the back of his neck, sheepishly.

“I’m starting to think that’s how you meet all your friends,” she nudged him a little.

“Not  _ all  _ of them,” Harry pouted. “I met you through Zayn.”

“Whom you met through his cat,” she crossed her arms.

“What can I say,” he charmed. “Animals are brilliant segues to building a friendship.”

“I can’t argue with that,” she shrugged. “Especially if you always end up in a dog park surrounded by yapping, energetic puppies,” she stood up and offered him her hand to pull him up as well. “Let’s go meet some animals, shall we? Maybe we’ll even find you some new clients – or friends,” she side eyed him teasingly. “Since that’s apparently how you meet new people.”

“Funny,” Harry rolled his eyes.

“I like to think I am,” Goldie agreed, leading him over to where Isaac was now sitting on the grass with Dingo’s head on his lap. “Hey, Zac,” she kneeled down beside him. “Wanna introduce me to your friend?”

Isaac nodded happily, continuing to stroke behind the dog’s ears. “This is Dingo. Dingo this is Goldie,” he chirped.

Dingo lifted his head up, tilting it at Goldie and allowing her to scratch under his chin. “Hello,” she cooed at him before glancing up at Harry. “Is it too late to take back how I felt about this place?” she joked.

“It’s never too late, Doll,” he winked, tucking his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans and leaving Goldie with Isaac and Dingo to chat with Liam and his girlfriend.

“Are you going to be my nanny?” Isaac wondered after a few minutes.

“Oh, who told you that?” she asked him, more than a little taken aback. She had offered to babysit once or twice, not become a full time carer.  

“I heard dad on the phone with Zayn. He said you were going to take care of me and that’s what nannies do. The telly says so,” he shrugged and turned back to the dog, jumping back a little when he shot up and chased after another puppy, barking loudly at it. “So you’re not going to look after me?” he turned back to her and crossed his legs.

“No, I mean, I might look after you while your dad goes out with his friends sometimes – if he trusts me. But I won’t be a nanny,” she said gently.

“Ok,” Isaac nodded, twisting his neck around to get a better look at Harry. He was laughing with Liam on a bench just a few feet away from them, waving his hands around while he told them a story. “Can we come to the park whenever you come over?”

“Hmm?” Goldie turned her attention back to him, her brain taking a few seconds to properly process the information. “Oh, sure. If your dad agrees,” she smiled at him.

“He will,” he said firmly.

“And how do you know that?” Goldie indulged him, spreading her legs out in front of her and leaning back on her hands.

“He’s never brought anyone else to the park before,” Isaac stated. “I’m going to play with Dingo.”

He didn’t wait for a response before he jumped to his feet and raced off. She turned to Harry, who already seemed to be watching her.

He smiled at her, something Goldie didn’t think she’d mind seeing more of.

-

She doesn’t know how it happened, but a little over a month later she found herself spending more time looking after Isaac than she’d anticipated. Harry called her up almost every week asking if she could take Isaac for an afternoon or two while he worked late, or for an evening or so while he went out for some drinks with ‘the lads’ (as he called them).

Zayn was more than ecstatic with the sudden change in routine and tried to get Harry out of the house as often as Goldie’s own timetable would allow. And she didn’t mind - most of the time. She enjoyed Isaac’s company, the innocence of a child was a welcome reprieve from the stifling expectations forced on her from most of the adults she was surrounded with in university and at work. But sometimes, she felt a little left out.

Her and Zayn didn’t seem to be spending as much time together lately and her birthday was today – though no one seemed to remember – leaving her to wallow in loneliness.

 

She knew she could have reminded him herself, but Goldie was being petulant and wanted him to remember on his own. They were meant to be best friends. And that was just Zayn.

She was growing annoyed with Harry too lately. They’d gotten pretty close in the weeks after he’d taken her to the dog park, spending a lot of their free time together – mostly because he’d force her to stay back for dinner after he got home from work and the two of them would end up having a chat until it got too late for her to walk home. She’d argue with him that she only lived a few streets away, but he’d hear none of it. Eventually, he’d end up giving her a lift home with Isaac in the back seat, waiting until she was inside the building before he drove back.

But now it was her birthday and Goldie was in a crabby mood, made only worse with the poor grade she’d gotten on her latest uni assignment. Although she was sure that was more because her tutor was out to get her than anything else.

“Happy birthday to me,” she muttered, biting into the grilled cheese she’d made herself for brunch – she’d treated herself to a much needed sleep in. She was barely halfway through when there was a knock at her front door.

She tried to ignore it but whoever was on the other side was pretty insistent.

“I know you’re in there, Goldie,” Harry’s voice chimed, sounding a little muffled through the door. “You told me just last week you didn’t have any plans for today and I doubt anything has changed – you’d have told me or Zayn if it had.”

“Go away,” she yelled out to him. “I don’t want to do anything today.”

“But we have a surprise for you,” Isaac called back, making Goldie’s shoulders drop in defeat. Harry she could handle, but Isaac – there was pretty much no way she could say no to him – she could already hear the pout in his voice.

She left the rest of her breakfast on the table and unlocked the door, letting her visitors in. “Come in, then,” she moved aside, waving them in with her right hand. But Isaac just shook his head excitedly.

“No, no. You have to come with us,” he grabbed her hand and tried to pull her out.

“Isaac,” Harry reprimanded him. “You can’t just grab people like that.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled letting go of her. “But she has to come with us, daddy.”

“He’s right though, you have to come with us,” he shrugged, tucking his hands into his pockets and smirking at her. “We’ve got a surprise for you.”

“I’m not really in the mood for surprises today, Harry,” she said, taking a step back into her flat.

“Aw, come on now, Doll,” he pleaded. “Isaac’s been planning this for ages, you’re not going to let him down now, are you?” he tried to manipulate her, smirk still firmly planted on his face and eyes twinkling mischievously, as though he was up to something. And Goldie had no doubt that he was.

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fine,” she grumbled, grabbing the jacket she had hooked behind the door. “But I’m not happy about this,” she wagged her finger at Harry only half jokingly. His smirk widened until it was a full-blown smile, with dimples and all. “Where are we going, anyway?” she asked as Isaac took hold of her hand and pulled her towards the stairs.

“You’ll see,” Harry tapped the side of his nose.

“It better be worth me leaving my flat,” she rolled her eyes at him.

“You’re gonna love it, Goldie,” Isaac tugged on her arm. “We’re going to the best place ever!”

“I guess it must be if you love it so much, little man,” she ruffled his hair as he buckled himself into the back of Harry’s car and Goldie sat in the front.

“Oh, so you trust him but not me,” Harry joked, catching the end of the conversation as he got behind the wheel.

She shrugged. “Kids are less inclined to lie.”

“What does ‘inclimed’ mean?” Isaac asked, curiously.

“It’s ‘inclined’, Zac. With an ‘n’,” Harry corrected him. “It means you won’t lie,” Isaac nodded in understanding and leaned back into his seat as they drove. “And when have I ever lied to you?” Harry asked her.

“Um, like last week,” she quirked a brow. “You told me, and I quote, ‘we’re going somewhere awesome’. And then you took me to your clinic,” she said pointedly.

“We were surrounded by animals!” Harry tried to defend, checking his mirrors before changing lanes. “I thought you’d like it.”

“They were all sick, or there to be put down,” she whispered the last part. “Not exactly what I’d call a good time,” but she couldn’t help but sound amused anyway. She knew he’d genuinely thought Goldie would have enjoyed her time at the clinic, but instead she’d been upset and a little more than repulsed – even if she had found the occasional puppy or kitten that liked to cuddle and purr. She couldn’t help but laugh at the look on his face now though.

“So, just for future reference, not a good idea for first dates?”

Goldie let out a surprised laugh. “Definitely not,” she agreed.

“There we are,” Harry nodded, sounding very satisfied with himself.

“What?” she asked confused.

“Your smile,” he glanced towards her, before turning back to the road. “You haven’t smiled since you opened the door to your flat and you’re usually never without a smile,” he explained to her. “It was odd.”

“Oh,” she said, not sure what else to respond with as a flood of colour rushed to her cheeks.

Harry cleared his throat. “We’re almost there,” he changed the subject, indicating to turn to the right.

Goldie was starting to recognise where they were now and turned to him curiously. “Are we going to the zoo?” she guessed, remembering a conversation she’d had with Isaac just over a week ago about how she’d always wanted to visit.

“You’ve ruined the surprise,” Harry sighed, mock disappointedly. “Hasn’t she, Zac?”

“I told you we should blindfold her, dad,” Isaac replied superiorly.

“Well I’m glad you didn’t,” Goldie laughed, her excitement growing the closer they got to London Zoo. She began twitching in her seat, something Harry didn’t miss.

“Wish you’d stayed home now?” he raised his eyebrows.

“Oh, shut up,” she grinned, leaving all her disappointment about her forgotten birthday behind her.

At the gate he made her stand in the queue with Isaac until he called them to the front where he'd gone to speak with one of the employees. It didn’t take long before he turned to face them and grinned as he waved them forwards. “I had pre purchased tickets,” he explained, placing a hand to the small of her back and leading her through the gates with Isaac in front of them.

“How much do I owe you?” she asked, turning her neck to get a look at him.

“Don’t be silly,” Harry scoffed, sounding insulted. “This is my treat. And don’t even think about trying to argue,” he continued when he notice her getting ready to argue. “You’re always taking care of Zac and I don’t even pay you for it.”

“That’s because I don’t mind taking care of him. It’s fun.”

“Yeah,” Harry snorted. “That’s the first time I’ve heard someone refer to babysitting as fun.”

“Can we see the monkey’s first? And then the lions?” Isaac interrupted them, pulling on Harry’s shirt. “Please, please, please, dad?”

“I’d love to see the monkey’s,” Goldie shrugged. “If we’re lucky we might get to see them throw poo at the glass.”

“Ew,” Isaac crinkled his nose. “That sounds gross.”

“Gross but awesome?” she bargained.

“Yeah,” he said after a moment of thought. “Gross but awesome.”

“I guess if it’s gross but awesome, we don’t have a choice but to go see the monkey’s first, do we?” Harry laughed, checking the map for the enclosure. “Ok, follow me,” he said, taking the lead and edging them around a couple of corners.

Goldie couldn’t keep the grin off her face. She had never been to the zoo before, and according to Zayn it was one of the best parts of his childhood. He’d gone with his sisters and both his parents, bickering the entire time about which animals they would see first. Eventually they’d played a game of ‘rock, paper, scissors’ and Zayn had lost. He still remembers stomping his foot and demanding a rematch, but he’d been denied. Now Goldie got to see what the whole fuss had been about.

So far she was pretty impressed, even if they’d done nothing but walk through the gates and around some corners. The atmosphere and the anticipation of the place had her giddy with happiness and even though they had forgotten, it was still one of the best birthday’s she’s ever had.

They made it to the monkey enclosure within a few minutes and Isaac immediately ran up to the glass separating them from the animals, squishing his face against it. “Zac, you can’t do that,” Harry reprimanded him. “Look it says ‘please don’t touch the glass’,” he pointed at a sign. Goldie wondered if it actually said that or if Harry was just being a dad right now.

“They’re not throwing anything,” he pouted, sounding very disappointed after a couple of minutes of staring at them. He waved at them a little more, trying to capture their attention, but they just continued to sit in their trees eating fruit or picking at one another’s furs. “This is boring I wanna go see the lions now,” he declared.

“Are they your favourite animal?” Goldie asked him as Harry once again led them away.

“They are now,” he nodded. “The monkeys didn’t do anything fun. But lions are awesome. I hope we get to see them roar at us.”

“Aren’t you afraid they’ll try to eat you?” she tickled him.

“That’s just silly,” he twisted away from her. “They can’t hurt us. The zoo people won’t let them,” he stated all matter of fact like.

 

“Yeah, Doll, you’re so silly sometimes,” Harry mocked her.

“What’s your favourite non-domestic animal then?” she asked him, turning around and walking backwards for a couple of seconds before Harry had to pull her out of the way of a couple of people.

“I like elephants,” he said after a while, shooting her an easy smile.

“I guess they’re pretty ok,” she mused.

“Ok?” he scoffed. “They’re bloody wicked.”

“Daddy said a bad word,” Isaac yelled.

“I’ll put a pound in the jar when we get home,” he sighed, shaking his head and staring accusingly at Goldie.

“Hey, I didn’t say it,” she held her hands up in surrender. “You’re the one with the potty mouth.”

“No, that’s Zayn,” he scowled. “He’s the reason we started the swear jar. But back to more important things. Elephants. They’re wicked, admit it.”

“Fine. Fine, they’re wicked,” she caved. “But to be honest I didn’t have you pegged as an elephant fan.”

“What’d you think then?”

“Wolves,” she shrugged. “I just assumed with how much you loved the dog park,” she explained.

“Nah, the elephants are my favourite,” he shook his head. “Did you know they have over forty thousand muscles in their trunk while humans have only like six hundred and thirty nine muscles in our whole body?” his eyes sparkled, the information spilling out of him freely.

“I do now,” Goldie laughed. “Didn’t think I’d be learning something at the zoo,” she joked.

“Well you’re welcome,” he winked at her, the both of them coming to a stop behind Isaac who was already staring wide-eyed at the lions.

“They’re so cool,” he breathed in awe.

“They are pretty wicked,” she agreed, watching as they lions lay lounging on rocks, the males occasionally swinging their head around and making their mane flutter as a result. Goldie was absolutely enraptured with the animals.

“I can totally see why they’re considered the king of the jungle,” she observed.

“Yeah,” Harry nodded from beside her, just as enamoured with the majestic creatures.

They spent a little time just watching them, until Isaac once again grew bored and demanded they see something else.

“How about we go see the elephants?” Goldie proposed. “They’re your dad’s favourite.”

“Elephants are so big,” Isaac grinned. “I’m going to be so small next to them,” he chattered as they once again moved on.

“What about you?” Harry asked her after a few minutes. “I mean, what’s your favourite animal?”

“Oh! Penguins,” she nodded rapidly. “Definitely the penguins. They walk so funny but they’re also really wicked, you know? Like the Emperor Penguin? They’re bloo-really neat.”

“Spheniscidae,” Harry said from beside her.

“Pardon?”

“That’s the scientific name for penguins,” he explained.

“I’m never going to remember that, you know that right?”

“I’m surprised I remembered it myself,” he admitted as they passed the giraffes.

 

“Those are Zayn’s favourite,” she blurted. “He thinks their necks are well cool,” she rolled her eyes. “I always thought his favourite animal would be a sloth, ‘cause they’re all slow and lazy like he is. He denies it, but I stand by my assumption. I bet he just says they’re not because he doesn’t want me to be right.”

“Yeah, he is the stubborn sort,” Harry agreed. “He hates being proven wrong. His face goes all pouty and his eyebrows scrunch together. Sometimes when I’m bored I like to see how far I can push him.”

“Evil.”

“So worth it though,” he shrugged. “Come on,” he nudged her a little, trying to speed her up. “Isaac’s getting away.”

Goldie doesn’t know how long they spent at the zoo exactly, but it was getting dark by the time they left. The drive home was pretty quiet with only Isaac chattering in the backseat about his favourite parts of the day, already begging to go back to the zoo.

Harry seemed to be taking a different route home, and although it wasn’t unfamiliar, it was a little out of their way. “Where are we going?” she asked him as they turned into a more suburban street.

“I promised Zac he could stay at a friend’s tonight,” he explained. “At Louis’.”

“Oh,” Goldie nodded. “I thought the place looked a little familiar. I remember Zayn telling me about how Jo’s come up for a bit,” she grinned. “You going out with the lads tonight?” she guessed.

“Nah,” he shook his head. “Quiet night in for me.”

That was the end of the conversation until he’d dropped his son off and directed his car home. But he didn’t drop Goldie off at her place like she’d expected him to. Instead he parked the car at his own flat and got out. She followed him, frowning a little. “What are we doing at your place?”

“I figured we could have some dinner before I dropped you home,” he shrugged. “We didn’t really have any proper food all day so it’s the least I can do.”

“You really don’t have to do that, Harry. You’ve already done more than enough today,” she told him honestly. “You don’t even realise how much all this meant to me.”

“Well maybe you can explain it all to me over some take out,” he beamed, twisting the key in his door and nudging it open. “After you,” he grinned.

She took a few steps forward and switched the light on, jumping back into Harry when an ostentatiously loud bellow of ‘surprise’ and ‘happy birthday’ was simultaneously yelled out at her.

“Didn’t think we’d forgotten your birthday did you?” Zayn engulfed her in a giant hug, a tacky party hat already on his head.

“I – what?” Goldie blinked at everyone, a little disoriented.

“Happy birthday, Doll,” Harry leaned forward and muttered into her ear, just before she was pulled away from him and into the group of people who were still waiting to give her their well wishes.

Somehow they’d managed to invite most of the people she knew – friends from uni, a couple of people she spoke to at work and all her close friends. She noticed Louis standing by the kitchen counting, manning the drinks and walked over to him.

“Hey,” she smiled, still a little dazed with the whole situation.

“Hiya, babe. Happy birthday,” he gave her a one armed hug.

“Aren’t you meant to be at home looking after Isaac?” she frowned.

“Nah,” he waved her off, handing someone she didn’t recognise a drink. “Mum’s over for the weekend so she’s taking care of them. I wasn’t going to miss out on a party – especially not if it’s for your birthday,” he grinned. “So, what would you like to drink?”

“Oh, no thanks,” she shook her head. “I’m not much of a drinker.”

“Awe come on, Goldie. It’s your birthday. Have a little fun,” he glanced over her shoulder and his smile turned into a little smirk. “Maybe Harry can help you loosen up a little,” he winked, nudging his head to where he was heading over towards them. “The whole thing was his idea, you know? Wanted to do somethin’ special for you.”

“He’s a good friend,” Goldie nodded.

“Oh please,” Louis snorted. “That boy has more than friendship on his mind if you catch what I’m sayin’,” he lowered his voice slyly. “And don’t think I haven’t seen the way you look at him when you think no one's watching.”

“You’re being silly, Lou,” she rolled her eyes.

“If you say so,” he shrugged. “But you wanna know what I think?”

“You’re going to tell me anyway,” she grinned amusedly.

“I think you should have some fun, see where things go and get off your face drunk.”

“Who’s getting off their face?” Harry asked, catching onto the last part of their conversation.

“No one ‘cause Goldie here refuses to have a drink,” Louis answered easily.

“But it’s your birthday,” Harry was quick to agree with him. “You gotta get smashed, Doll, otherwise it’s not really a celebration now, is it?”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“Nope,” Harry quipped. “I’ll walk around nagging you until you’ve no choice but to drink just to get me to leave you alone. It’s what Isaac does when he wants something,” he explained.

“Twat,” she grumbled, accepting the beer Louis was shaking at her. “Feels good to be able to call you that out loud now that there’s no minors around.”

“Innit,” Louis agreed, chugging down his own bottle. “Children are great when they’re all small and can’t understand anything, but as soon as their little brains start repeating words, I’m fucked.”

“Yeah ‘cause every second word you say is a curse,” Zayn rolled his eyes, sidling up to them and joining the conversation. “How’re you enjoying the party, Marigold?” he asked her.

“Honestly, I was so convinced that you’d forgotten it was my birthday that I was pretty much ready to ignore you for the rest of our lives,” she admitted. “So the party is going well. Thank you,” she directed that to all of them, settling on Harry.

“It wasn’t a problem,” Zayn hummed, sounding pleased. “Only the best for the best,” he swung an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for another hug.

“Wasn’t a problem for you lot,” Harry scoffed. “She was not a happy camper this mornin’,” he took a swig of his drink. “She wanted to slam the door in my face.”

“No I didn’t,” she looked away sheepishly.

“Yeah,” Louis laughed. “That’s really the face of an innocent person.”

“Shut up,” she said weakly, wriggling away from Zayn and grabbing another drink. “You’re right,” she agreed. “I’m going to need more than a couple of drinks if I’m to spend the night with you three,” she waved the drink at them. “It’s my birthday and you’re already ganging up on me.”

“Guys against gals, babe. Guys against gals,” Louis shrugged.

“That so?” she smirked. “Wonder what your girlfriend has to say about that.”

“You wouldn’t,” Louis narrowed his eyes at her.

“Try me,” she called, walking backwards and disappearing into the crowd.

“I’ve got this, Lou,” Harry smacked him on the back and followed Goldie back into the crowd.

It was a few hours later when the party was finally over and everyone had been tucked safely into the back of a taxi and shunted off home that Goldie found herself alone with Harry.

She’d just finished waving off a highly intoxicated Louis who had been speaking gibberish for the last half an hour and made her way back up to the messy flat. “Hey,” she slurred, more than intoxicated enough herself. “Need a hand?” she offered, watching as he threw abandoned bottles and dirty paper plates into a rubbish bag he had in his left hand.

“Oh, you’re still here,” he jumped, not expecting anyone to have stayed back.

“I can leave if you’d like,” Goldie offered.

“No, no,” he rushed out. “Jus’ thought you’d gone ‘ome,” he hiccupped. “I could use a hand, yeah,” he smiled, his eyes glazed over with the effect of alcohol.

Marigold grabbed a broom, sweeping the smaller bits of rubbish into a little pile then into a dustpan while Harry disposed of his rubbish bag outside. It was getting close to one in the morning by then and the long day was finally starting to catch up with her.

She’d been on her feet all day, and even during her party she’d barely sat down, spending most of the time chatting with friends or being forced to dance by Louis or Zayn.

But now it was quiet and all her adrenaline had faded and she couldn’t stop yawning. Still, her mind seemed to be more than awake, staring at Harry as he walked back into his flat. His hair was ruffled by the breeze outside and his eyes were still a little dazed and all Goldie could think about was how attractive she found him and whether or not his lips tasted of alcohol.

“Today was fun,” he said, spotting her and walking over.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Thank you. Probably the best birthday I’ve ever had – even if it had been without the party.”

“Really?” he beamed at her, the kind of smile that broke hearts and put them back together again all in one go.

“Mhm,” she nodded, not sure she had the ability to speak right now.

“I’m glad to hear it. Would you like somethin’ to drink or eat?” he offered her.

“I should be getting home,” she shook her head. “But thank you,” she stood up.

“I’ll see you out,” he said, voice very controlled as her followed her to the front door.

“Thank you again, Harry,” she turned to look at him, eyes widening a little. “Oh, you’ve got an eyelash,” Goldie told him, biting her lip and carefully reaching over and plucking it off his cheek without a moment’s hesitation. Harry blinked at her, a little surprised at the abrupt change in conversation. “Make a wish,” she offered it to him.

“But it’s your birthday. Shouldn’t you be the one making a wish?” he raised his brows.

“I’ve already got everything I could wish for,” she shook her head, staring up at him.

He doesn’t know what came over him then, but before he knew it, he was reaching over and kissing her, the eyelash forgotten between them as it fluttered off Goldie’s finger, only to be carried away and disappear into his flat. Harry didn't care; the only thing he could've wished for was already in his arms anyway, kissing him back.

It started off gently, their lips simply moving hesitantly against one another, testing each other out. But then Harry nipped at her bottom lip and Goldie let out a content little sigh and suddenly it was a lot more rushed.

Soft kisses turned to bruising desire and warm caresses turned to harsh tugs, and bodies slammed together and apart again only to once again collide; this time with a wall or a door leaving physical reminders to be discovered in the morning.

Goldie felt Harry’s hand slip under her shirt and pause, silently asking for permission. She kissed him again, pulling roughly on his hair. “Bed,” she breathed against his lips.

He didn’t need to be told twice and began edging them to his bedroom with Goldie’s legs wrapped around his waist and his arm under her blouse, already picking at the clasp of her bra.

He dropped her onto the bed and instantly crawled on top of her, barely allowing her to take in a breath before fusing their lips once again. He was kissing her like she was his life source and all Goldie could do was give him everything she had.

And maybe she’d regret this in the morning when her mind was clearer and their lips didn’t taste like alcohol and his eyes weren’t so dazed. But right now she couldn’t think of any of that. She couldn’t think about anything that wasn’t  _ Harry,  _ really – maybe she didn’t even want to.

-

When Marigold woke up the next morning, it took a few seconds for her to remember the events of the day before – particularly those after everyone had already left.

She felt her body freeze up as someone shuffled beside her.

“’Mornin’,” Harry said softly, sleep still obvious in his voice. “Goldie,” he nudged her gently. “I know you’re awake. We don’t – we can pretend this never happened if you’d like,” he told her. “But you should know, I’d very much like to take you out. I – last night shouldn’t have happened the way it did.”

She turned to look at him then, noting the evident frustration on his face. “I don’t regret what happened,” she confessed, voice rough from lack of use.

“Neither do I,” he rushed out. “But, uh, it wasn’t how I’d planned.”

“You’d planned that?” she quirked a brow, enjoying watching him squirm a little too much as she tucked the sheets around her naked body.

“No, no,” he panicked. “I swear that wasn’t – I didn’t expect that to happen. I’m glad it did, but,” he ran a hand through his already messy hair and pulled. “I don’t know what I’m saying.”

“Yes,” Goldie said, deciding to put him out of his misery.

“Yes?” he asked, now confused as well as frustrated.

“Yes I’ll go out with you,” she smiled at him, trying not to laugh at the relief on his face.

“Jesus,” he breathed. “You sure know how to mess with a man’s heart, Doll.”

“Only ‘cause you make it so easy,” she chirped, feeling lighter than she’s ever felt before.

“So I’ll pick you up tomorrow at seven?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Why not?” he shrugged, looking a little self-conscious.

“Very convincing argument.”

“So is that an ok?” he grinned.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Come on,” he tapped her on the arm. “I’ll make us some breakfast – unless you’d rather stay in bed,” he winked at her.

“You’re quite cheeky in the mornings, Harry Styles,” she swung her feet off the bed, making sure the sheets were still wrapped around her tightly.

“And you’re nothing short of beautiful, Marigold Cartwright,” he told her, his eyes belaying nothing but honesty.

“Charmer, aren’t you?” she teased him, trying to fight the blush from coating her cheeks. There was nothing she could do about the smile that split her face in two though. 

 

Harry made the two of them some scrambled eggs for breakfast. They ate in relative silence both of them far too hungry to really try and strike up any sort of conversation with the other. 

 

Goldie didn’t mind so much as it gave her some time to get her thoughts together. One thing was obvious, Louis had been right - though she’d never admit it to him. He already had a big enough ego without her aiding him. 

 

Harry on the other hand was busy planning their first date. He’d need to convince Zayn to take Isaac in for the night, but he didn’t think that would be too much of an issue seeing as he’d been pestering him to  _ ‘just ask her out already’  _ for ages now. Then he’d need to figure out just what it was they were going to do. But one glance at Goldie calmed him down almost instantly. She wouldn’t want something big, he knew that. She preferred the sentimental over any grand gesture he could think up. 

 

They washed the dishes together once breakfast was over with Goldie rinsing and Harry drying - a routine they’d picked up when she’d started having dinner at his place. Sometimes Isaac would help them...or he’d try to, but after one broken dish too many Harry had banished him to the kitchen table where he chattered on about his day while they did all the work. 

 

“Am I still watching Zac today?” Goldie asked once they were done. 

 

“Oh, no. Jo said she’d keep him for the day when I dropped him off yesterday,” he told her, heading back to his room to get dressed for work. He only had a short afternoon shift today so he still had a little time to kill. “I can drop you home before I head into the clinic. Give you a well needed break,” he joked. 

 

She still needed to go home and change so she immediately accepted his offer. 

 

She planned to get some uni work done and maybe clean up her flat a little bit, but as soon as she stepped into her room and stripped out of the clothes Harry had given her all she could think about was jumping into the shower and taking a long nap. 

 

Which is exactly what she did. 

 

-

 

A few weeks later, Goldie once again found herself looking after Isaac. She and Harry had only been going out for a short time but she’d already spent a couple of nights over his place, waking up early in the morning to make breakfast and, even on occasion, taking Isaac to school when Harry was running late for work - although they really only had themselves to blame for that. 

 

Today however, was one of the few times she hadn’t spent the night, but Harry had called her anyway asking if she could please pick Isaac up from school. A very pregnant cat had apparently come screeching into the clinic and he was forced to stay back a while to birth her. 

 

“I really didn’t need the details,” she groaned into the phone, already pulling her shoes on. “You could have just said you had some sort of animal emergency.” 

 

“I’ll keep that in mind next time,” he said hurriedly. “So can you pick him up? I’ll owe you one.” 

 

“No problem,” she answered easily. “I was going to come around later anyway,” she shrugged, making her way through the door. 

 

“Thank you so much, Doll,” he said, relieved. 

 

Goldie laughed down the phone. “Go do your gross job, Harry. I’ll see you later,” she hung up, humming to herself as she made her way to the little primary school that wasn’t too far from her. 

 

She was still a little early, so she sat down just outside the school, waiting for the bell to ring. It wasn’t the first time she’d picked him up from school, but usually Harry was with her so it was a little odd being on her own.

 

She spotted Isaac almost instantly, waving to him. “Hey, Zac,” she called, wrapping an arm around him when he engulfed her in as big of a hug as a six year old could muster. 

 

“Goldie!” he grinned toothily. “Where’s dad?” 

 

“He got held up at work,” she told him, taking his bag and swinging it over her own shoulder. “He sent me instead. Is that ok?” 

 

“Yep,” he nodded furiously. “You’re the best.” 

 

“Thank, Zac,” she laughed, taking hold of his hand. “How was school?” 

 

“Boring. We had to learn maths today and I’m no good with numbers,” he scrunched up his nose. 

 

“I’m good at maths. Maybe I can help you, if you want,” she offered. 

 

“Yes please,” his eyes lit up. “You do it better than daddy. He makes it hard sometimes.”

 

“Well we’ll just have to teach him as well, then,” she said decidedly. “How’s that?” 

 

“Yes, yes, yes,” He agreed happily. 

 

“What else did you do today?” she asked him. 

 

“I played with my friends. That was the best. I told them all about you and how you’re so cool and that you and dad kiss sometimes which is gross,” he said pointedly, and Goldie felt thoroughly reprimanded by a six year old. “Jonathan said his mum and dad kiss sometimes too. He asked me if you were my mum,” he frowned a little at that, his face dropping. 

 

“Wh-what did you say to him?” Goldie asked anxiously. 

 

“I said I don’t know,” he looked up at her then, eyes all full of hope. “Are you going to be my new mum, Goldie?” he asked her. 

 

“I -,” she paused trying to come up with something to say that wouldn’t break this six year old’s little heart. “No, no I’m not,” she eventually sighed. 

 

“Okay,” he nodded, the happiness in his eyes dimming a little bit. 

 

“But I’ll always be here for you if you need anything,” she vowed, knowing she probably shouldn’t have said that without speaking to Harry first - which she was going to do as soon as he got home. But Isaac looked so sad that Goldie simply couldn’t help herself. 

 

She was distracted for the rest of the day trying not to think about her own parents, nor about how sad Isaac had looked asking for a mother he seemed desperate for. It felt like time was dragging on by the time Harry got home and they all had dinner together, giving the impression of what a real family would be like. 

 

They’d just gotten Isaac to go to bed a half hour ago, and Goldie had pretty much been trying to come up with different ways to break the news to him the entire time. She’d ultimately taken the ‘rip the bandaid off’ technique and blurted it out to him. 

 

“Isaac asked me if I’m his new mum,” she told Harry gently, picking at her fingernails to avoid looking at him. 

“What...what did you just say?” he choked out, clearly startled. She wasn’t surprised that she could already feel him closing off.

“I told him no,” she relayed the truth. “I wasn’t sure what to say, honestly. So I just told him that no I wasn’t.”

“And what did he say?”

“Nothing. He just nodded and said ‘okay’. But he seemed sad,” she told him, omitting the rest of what she’d said for now. “I didn’t really know what to do about that and I’m not – I’m not trying to tell you how to parent, Harry, I swear I’m not. I’m the last person who’d try to give parenting advice – but maybe…maybe just talk to him about her at some point? I think – I think it would help, just from personal experience, you know,” she rushed out, not realising her slip up until Harry’s next question.

“Personal experience?” he asked, confused and still a little closed off.

“Yeah,” she breathed out, sinking a little deeper into his sofa. “Honestly, I’d always assumed Zayn had already told you, but I guess not.”

“All he said was that I don’t ask about your family,” he shrugged.  

“Yeah,” she nodded, shooting him a sad little smile that Harry didn’t think he’d ever forget. “He told me the same about Isaac’s mum. But I – I guess you should know. When I was seven, I was taken away from my parents. They were declared unfit or something, and they were meant to go to court and put forth their case and try to win me back, you know?”

He nodded his understanding, encouraging her to continue.

“But they never showed up. And – and social workers went looking for them, to try and explain to them what was happening because maybe they didn’t know what they were supposed to do to get me back, yeah? But when they caught up with my parents they just…blew them off and went back to whatever it was they were doing. I was placed in a couple of foster homes before my mum finally showed up one day and said she was going to get me back. I was over the moon and I packed all my things and waited by the door, but she never came. That happened a couple of times. Eventually I stopped believing her and she stopped coming, but I could never stop caring. And I could never stop wondering ‘why’, you know? I’m still wondering why.”

“I’m so sorry, Marigold,” he said softly, reaching over and entwining their hands together. “And..don’t worry about Isaac. I’ll speak to him I promise,” he vowed. 

 

“It’s ok and, there’s something else. I promised him that I’d always be there for him,” she rushed out, making Harry freeze which only made her panic some more. “I’m so sorry if I overstepped,” she told him still a little nervous over what had happened. “He just looked so sad and, I don’t know. It didn’t seem right so I figured I’d try and make him happy again.”

 

“Did you mean it?” he asked carefully. 

 

“Yes,” she nodded instantly. 

 

“Then it’s ok, Goldie,” Harry smiled, finding he really did believe her. “I’m - I’m glad he’s got someone who’s not me to look out for him.”

 

“So you’re not mad?”

 

“No,” he shook his head and simultaneously squeezed her hand comfortingly. 

 

She smiled at him then, all nervous-like. “I know this is all really new between us, but I, uh, I plan on it lasting a while,” she confessed. 

 

“Me too,” he admitted, pulling her in for a soft kiss. “Me too.” 

 

-

 

“What do you say we go out?” Harry asked a month later with his head resting on Goldie’s thigh as she ran her fingers through his hair. 

 

“Where to?” she asked, looking away from the telly. 

 

“The museum. I heard Zayn telling you about it and you sounded like you were interested. We should go.” 

 

“Yeah?” 

 

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “It’ll be fun, come on.” 

 

“What, now?” she widened her eyes when Harry jumped to his feet pulling her up with him. 

 

“No time like the present,” he grinned, handing her a jacket. “Come on, it’ll be fun. And Isaac’s at school we rarely get to go out just the two of us. It’ll be wicked,” he said excitedly, pulling her towards the door. 

 

“Ok, ok,” Goldie laughed. “Let me put my shoes on. You’re about to pull my arm out of it’s socket,” she shook her head, still amused. This was a new side to Harry - the excitable, easily amused man who usually held far too much responsibility on his shoulders. “Right, I’m done,” she declared, and before she knew it they were already in the car driving to the museum.

 

As usual, Harry refused to let her pay for her own ticket, but by then they’d come up with an arrangement. If they went out for dinner, Harry would pay for the food while Goldie covered the dessert, but if they went to places like the zoo, he’d pay for the tickets and she would cover the snacks. 

 

Today they had ice-cream which the museum staff had looked at very disapprovingly. But Harry and Goldie had merely smiled at them, waving their spoons innocently and making sure they kept their distance from any of the exhibits that could be damaged by melted ice cream. 

 

“Doll, look at this one,” Harry grinned pointing at a sculpture that looked like a crumpled piece of paper. “What do you think it means?” he grinned. 

 

“Dunno, but i bet it’s something really deep and meaningful.” 

 

“I bet Zayn could tell us if we asked him,” he laughed, pulling out his ringing phone and frowning at the number. “‘Ello?” Goldie was staring at him, watching carefully as the colour seemed to slowly vanish from his face and his eyes filled with panic. “I’ll be right there,” he snapped down the line, instantly hanging up the phone. 

 

The innocent laughter and light atmosphere had suddenly disappeared, surrounding them instead with a bubble of tension. “What’s wrong?” she asked quietly. “Harry?”   
  


“It’s Isaac,” he mumbled, sounding detached. 

 

“Is he ok? What happened?” 

 

“Did it sound like he was ok?” he snapped at her. “Sorry,” he apologised instantly. 

 

“It’s ok,” Goldie shook her head. “What can I do?” 

 

“He’s in hospital. I have to go,” he ignored her. 

 

“I’ll come with you,” she offered, putting her ice cream down and moving to follow him. 

 

“No,” he said harshly, making her jump back. “This is a family matter.” 

 

“But -,” he cut her off again, his words worse than knifes in her chest.  

 

“Just because you don’t have a family of your own, doesn’t mean you can try to become a part of mine,” Harry sneered, leaving Goldie frozen confused and alone in the middle of the museum, her tub of ice cream melting as it lay forgotten beside her while her heart fell to pieces in her chest, shards lodging themselves in her lungs until it felt like she could no longer breathe. 

 

She’d gone home after that, keeping her phone beside her and hoping that Harry would call and apologise. She knew if he did she’d forgive him without a second thought. But he didn’t and she started to wonder if he ever would.  

 

She’d been cooped up in her flat for a week now, trying to come to terms with the thought that maybe this was it. Maybe Harry wasn’t going to call and for the second time in her life she was going to be abandoned by someone she loved - left behind to wonder whether or not one day they’ll show up at her front door and explain why it was they did the things they did. 

 

Eventually there had been a knock on her front door, though not the one she’d expected. 

 

When she unlocked the door, Zayn was standing before her a furious look in his eyes which turned to instant relief when he saw her. “Hey, Zayn,” she managed just before he pulled her into a crushing hug. 

 

She fell into him, letting him take most of her weight while she took in the comfort. He always managed to give her the right type of hug whenever she needed one. 

 

He let her go after a while and edged himself into her lounge room, slowly extracting exactly what had happened. He’d already spoken to Harry but he wasn’t very inclined to believe him when he said nothing was wrong, so he wanted to hear it from Goldie. Except when he asked her about what it was Harry had said, she began to close off from him brushing aside all his prodding. 

 

“Marigold,” Zayn spoke gently once she was done, as though he was trying not to startle her.

 

“It doesn’t make sense anymore, Zayn,” she cut him a look that spoke more than any word in the dictionary could translate. “I’m sitting here in my flat watching the world go on outside and it’s a beautiful, sunny day – which is fucking rare in England – and I can see the cars driving by and the lights are turning green and the lights are turning red and the cars are stopping and everything is still the same and everyone is still smiling and crying and living  _ and everything is still the same _ . But he is gone. And even though everything is still the same, nothing seems to make sense anymore.”

 

“You’ll be ok,” he promised, hugging her again. “Harry’s an idiot, but he’ll come around and if he doesn’t I’ll beat him up for you,” he joked, even if there was more than a little truth behind his words. 

 

“You know I don’t like violence,” she scolded him, bringing some life to her eyes. 

 

“Yeah but he deserves it,” Zayn said firmly. “I’m going to make some tea for myself, do you want a cup?” he switched topics, not allowing her to argue. 

 

Goldie pursed her lips. “I know what you’re doing, but yes,” she sighed. “I’d love some tea, thanks.” 

 

They spent the rest of the morning chatting about things they’d missed out on one another’s life since she’d started properly seeing Harry. Eventually at half two in the afternoon, Zayn had to leave since he had a lunch date with his girlfriend, but he promised to come around more often. 

 

Goldie waved him off at the door, feeling a little happier than she had before she’d seen Zayn and deciding to try and get some coursework she’d been neglecting, done. 

 

Once outside, Zayn texted his girlfriend that he was going to be a few minutes late and took a slight detour, stopping in front of Harry’s apartment building and trying to calm himself before he spoke to his friend, though he used that term a lot more loosely now.

 

“What the fuck did you say to her?” Zayn demanded, cornering Harry while Isaac was still at school. “She won’t tell me a word of what you said,” he said, eyes shooting daggers and words dripping in venom.

“I-,” Harry blinked back at his friend, unsure of how to reply. “Is she ok?” he asked, immediately regretting it when Zayn growled at him.

“No she’s fucking not ok.  _ What did you say to her?”  _ he demanded again, but he didn’t give Harry much of a chance to reply as he continued. “She won’t say a word to me about what happened other than the fact that you left her in a museum to go and see Isaac in the hospital after breaking up with her and that you were right about something. Which is bollocks since you’re the world’s biggest wanker,” he glared at him fiercely and though Harry was a good couple of inches taller than Zayn, in that moment he’d never felt so small. “She only ever leaves her flat to go to class now, and yesterday when Louis invited her over to dinner with his family she said no because she didn’t want to intrude.  _ She never says no to dinner at Lou’s,”  _ Zayn ran a hand through his hair, brow furrowed in worry. “You look like shit by the way,” he said after taking a moment to look at his friend more carefully.

“Yeah,” Harry grumbled, moving back into his flat and allowing Zayn to follow him inside. “I haven’t been sleeping well,” he admitted.

“Why not?” Zayn asked, suddenly worried about his friend. “Is everything alright?” he asked.

_ No _ , was his immediate response. “Yeah,” he said instead. “Just busy with work, you know?” he forced a smile.

“Ha,” Zayn scoffed. “You really expect me to believe that?” he rolled his eyes. “I’ve known you for years now, mate,” he continued. “You think I don’t know when you’re feeling guilty?”

Harry sighed. “Look-,”

“No, you look,” Zayn cut him off before he could come up with anything to say. “You fucked up. Big time. Marigold is  _ the  _ sweetest person I know - sometimes, when I spend too much time with her, I can honestly feel a cavity developing on the spot.”

“Dental jokes aren’t funny, Zayn,” Harry interrupted quickly.

“They are when you’re a dentist,” he glared, continuing with his speech. “She’s never so much as raised her voice at anyone, and she’s never smiled as much as she did when she was with  _ you. _ And she can deny it as much as she wants, but as warm hearted as she is, she was also broken...until you and Isaac came into her life with your dimples and identical green eyes - seriously, it’s a little off putting. But that’s not the point. You put her together, and then you just tore her apart again worse than before. Do you understand that, Harry? You tore apart the world’s kindest soul because what, you were scared?” Zayn sneered, rubbing at his forehead as if to ward off a headache and missing the shocked look of surprise that flitted across Harry’s face - because,  _ god he had no idea how right he was _ . “My best friend is not the same anymore and I don’t know what to do. I need you to  _ fix this,  _ because if you don’t fix this you’re the world’s biggest fucking prick,” he finished at complete unawares of the emotions swirling around Harry’s mind.

“I don’t-,”

But again, Zayn cut him off, this time holding his hand up to stop him from continuing his sentence. “Save it. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. Call Marigold. Call her and fix this. I don’t care if you have to grovel, but make things better or fuck off. Now, I have a date to get to,” and then Zayn walked out the door, leaving Harry to drown in his words - as though he hadn’t already been drowning in his own.

_ You put her together, and then you just tore her apart again. _

 

-

 

It took him almost an entire week, but eventually Harry had come up with a foolproof plan to apologise to Goldie. He didn’t know if it would work, or if she’d even give him the chance to say anything but he had to try. He was going crazy without her, and Isaac wouldn’t stop asking for her which only made things worse. 

 

He was stood in front of her flat with a small stuffed penguin clasped between his hands trying to pluck up the courage to knock on the door. 

 

“Just do it, just do it, just do it,” he muttered to himself, lifting his fist and rapping gently thrice on the wood. 

 

“Just a minute!” came Goldie’s voice and Harry was sure he was going to have his heart drop right out of his chest. The next thirty seconds felt like the longest of his life before Goldie finally pulled the door open. “Oh,” she said, eyes wide with unexpected surprise. “Harry,” she breathed, the hurt he’d caused her coming back to the surface once again. “What are you doing here?”

 

“Spheniscidae,” he blurt out, handing her the stuffed penguin. Or trying to, but she merely stared at it in confusion. 

 

“What?” 

 

“The - it’s the scientific name for penguin,” he explained. “It’s for you, take it,” he shook the toy a little at her, and she did. “They’re one of the few primarily monogamous animals, you know?” he said gently. “Most penguin species are known to only ever have one mate for their life,” he spouted off the fact, trying to get his thoughts together. 

 

“Is this why you came here?” she asked, trying to hand the stuffed animal back to him. 

 

“No, wait. Doll, please. I - I have a speech.”

  
“What for?” she asked, holding the toy to her chest. 

 

“For my apology, and I know it’s late, but I am sorry,” Harry muttered dejectedly. “I know - I know I don’t deserve you, and that I fucked up majorly and I know I have no excuse that could possibly make up for the things I said to you, but I’m sorry. I was - I was worried about Zac and I took it out on you. I - I was being stupid and selfish and I was just worried that he’d grow attached to you and you’d leave us just like his mum did,” he confessed. “You promised not to leave him and - and I knew you were telling the truth, I didn’t doubt you for a second but… but I was still scared.” He didn’t say anything more, waiting for Goldie to reply, but all she could stare at was the bags under his eyes and the green of his eyes and the pink of his lips and,  _ god she’d missed him _ .

 

She licked her lips, trying to formulate a response. “I’m not like  _ her,”  _ she began, meaning Isaac’s mother. “I - I wasn’t going to leave Zac. I wasn’t going to leave  _ you,” _ she emphasised.

 

“I know, and I’m  _ so sorry _ ,” he said miserably. “I’m so sorry. You trusted me with your past and I just threw it in your face and used it to hurt you - and in the worst possible way I knew how - before you could hurt me.”

 

“I wasn’t going to hurt you, Harry,” Goldie said in a small voice and he hated himself just a little more because she’d never been so timid around him before, never so careful with what she said - not even when they’d first met all those months ago. “And I know that I’m not your ideal,” she continued.

 

“But  _ you are,”  _ Harry cut her off. “ _ God,  _ against all odds  _ you are my ideal _ ,” he insisted, impulsively taking a step towards her. His heart felt a little less heavy when she didn’t take a step back and Harry felt hope swarm within him. “How can I fix this, Goldie?” he asked. “Just tell me how to fix it and I’ll do it. I’ll do anything,” he vowed.

 

She bit her lip as she stared at him in consideration, tilting her head in a way Harry recognised she’d picked up from Isaac and his heart clenched in his chest as the magnitude of just how stupid he’d been hit him.

 

Finally she spoke, sending his heart into a frenzy with seven words. “Broken kisses taste better when they’re fixed.”

 

He reached over and kissed her then, throwing all caution to the wind as he tried to bury himself in the girl standing before him, pulling her closer and closer until he was sure she was real and there and perfect. 

 

And it wasn’t like she’d never heard the words before. She’d spent the better part of her childhood hearing them from her friends, and she even remembered a couple of times where they had been uttered by her parents - the few good memories she had of them, anyway. And even though she hadn’t heard them in a while, the memories were still there, they still brought warmth, they were still  _ real and true _ . 

 

Goldie had even heard the words plenty of times from Zayn as they grew up, especially when he got drunk and his emotions came pouring out. He was quite the emotional drunk, Zayn. And he never missed the opportunity to tell her how much he loved her. She’d even heard the words from a few of her exes - well, she’d heard the words from them in an ‘almost’ fashion. They’d  _ almost  _ loved her -  _ almost  _ fallen for her -  _ almost  _ wanted to spend the rest of their lives with her. 

 

But somehow, when they came from Harry it all felt so much more different - so much more powerful and important than they had ever felt before. The fact that he had the ability to feel it enough to express it to her without a flutter of doubt, in nothing more than a simple kiss was a miracle in itself. And even though she didn’t need to hear them to affirm what it was he was trying to tell her, even though she didn’t need for him to say them out loud, he still pulled back from the kiss, resting his forehead against her own. And with eyes an emerald green, he whispered the words low enough that they were meant for no one but the two of them: “I’m in love with you, Doll.” 

 

Goldie grinned up at him, the penguin still clutched tightly between them. Harry glanced down at it and smirked, “You’re my Spheniscidae,” he said proudly, making her groan and drop her forehead to his chest. 

 

“This is what I get for falling in love with a vet,” she grumbled, heart swelling with happiness even as she complained. 

 

“You’re in love with me?” he asked a little awed. 

  
“Obviously,” she rolled her eyes. “Penguins mate for life remember? Can’t get rid of me now,” she tapped the penguin against his nose as she moved back into her flat. “Where’s Isaac?” she asked. 

 

“Jo’s got him again for the night.” 

 

“Oh, then do you wanna come in?” she offered. 

 

“Yeah,” Harry agreed, moving past her and into the flat. 

 

He knew things weren’t the same as they were before, and matters weren’t exactly okay between them, but it was a start and it was hope and that was more than Harry had been expecting.


End file.
